Machine for pointing cylindrical articles



M. 0. ANTHONY.

MACHINE FOR POINTING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 14. ran.

Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

5 SHEET S-SHEET I.

lnv enToT. Marcus Q. Agjhon Aliys M. 0. ANTHONY. MACHINE FOR POINTING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. l4, I917.

1,322,508. Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Fig.2.

Inventor.

'5 Marcus QAnthony BYMMA'W M. 0. ANTHONY.

MACHINE FOR POINTING CYLINDRICAL'ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 14, 1917.

1,322,508, Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

InveriToT.

Marcus UAnThony ATTys.

M. 0. ANTHONY.

MACHINE FOR POINTING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES.

APPLICATIQN FILED MAR. 14.1911.

1,322,508. Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5- \82 \nven'tor.

Marcus 0. AnThony Atry s.

"'rnn sra'rns ra'rnnr orrion.

MARCUS O. ANTHONY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB TO A. KIMBALL COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR POINTING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

Application filed March 14, 1917. Serial No. 154,900.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, MARCUS O. -ANTHONY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, county of New York, State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Machines for Pointing Qy lindrical Articles, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to nnproveinents 1n machines for pointing cylindrical articles and the object thereof broadly stated is to provide a device capable of rapidly reducing by mechanical means the ends of such cylindrical articles tosubstantially perfect conoidal points.

More particularly the object of the invention is simultaneously to produce points upon both ends of cylindrical blanks of soft wire for the purpose of providing pins adapted to be utilized in the manufacture of pin tickets.

In machines generally used in the manufacture of pin tickets the wire is fed continuously across the path of cutters whlch sever the wire at an angle to its axis so that two points are simultaneously formed upon adjacent blanks. The blank is then bent into suitable form and affixed to the pin ticket in a well known manner. p

The points thus produced are unsatisfactory for some purposes asthey present more or less sharp or rough edges along the lines -of severance and often the tips are burred or forked so that when the pins are inserted in the fabric in attaching the pin tickets thereto the fibers of the f brie are sometimes cut or snagged and the article damaged.

Many efforts have heretofore been made to produce mechanical devices capable of forming smooth points upon blanksfor pinsof this character but so far as I am aware no one has heretofore produced a machine capable of satisfactorily handling the soft pliable wire of which such pin ticketsare DQCPSSZHIlY'iHELCiG and for pointing the pins with sufficient rapidity, to enable them to b manufactured successfully and economlcally for commercial use.

These defects have been overcome in the present invention by the production of a machine which moves the ends of the articles progressively and continuously across the field of operation of a cutter, grinder or other mechanical reducing agent and by rotating the article upon its own axis while it is being acted upon by the reducingmeans.

One of the objects of the invention therefore, is to provide a machine containing means which will move the articles continuously forward and present their ends to suitable reducing'meansand which will also cause the rotation of the articles upon their own axes while their ends are being acted upon by the reducing means.

Another object of the invention is to pro: vide means for assuring proper rotation of the articles upon their own axes While they are beingoperated upon by the end reducmg means.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for presenting the articles to the end reducing means which will so act upon the articles as to prevent them from bending while the end is being reduced.

More specifically another object of the invention is to provide a fiat supporting bed for the cylindrical articles to be pointed and cooperating means adapted to roll the articles along the bed across the field of a rotating cutter or other reducing means which is positioned at an angle to the direction of movement of the axes of the cylindrical articles. 7 r i Another objectof the invention is to provide means 'for adjusting the angular position of the plane of rotation of the actuating' elements of the cutter relatively to the plane of the bed so that points of different tapers may be produced upon said article's. Another object of the invention is to provide a traveling means for positively maintaining the axes of the articles in proper re lation to the cutter during the pointing operation and which will also serve to insure the proper progress of the articlesalong the position of the articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hopper and delivery chute leading therefrom to the conveyer with means for insuring the proper arrangement of the articles for presentation to the conveyer.

Another object of the invention is toprovide a cutter of a novel character specially adapted to reduce the ends of soft metal 7,

articles such as for pin tickets.

Other objects and features'of the inven tion and the nature thereof will more fully appear from the following description and drawing and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention adapted simultaneously to point both ends of cylindrical articles, such as pins for pinj tickets.

In the drawings;

' Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pin pointing machine,

Fig.2 is a plan view of the same,

Fig. 3 is a transverse view partially in section,

Fig, 4c is a detail horizontal sectional view of the pivotal support of the yokes in which the cutters are mounted on line 44 Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a detail horizontal sectional View of the vertically adjustable stand which supports the cutters on line 55 Fig. 3,

Fig. '6 is a vertical sectional view of the feeding hopper and the blank support and conveyer taken in different vertical planes for the purpose of showing the detail construction of certain of the parts,

Fig. 7 is a detail rear elevation of the hopper and blank feeding mechanism,

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the lower portion of the blank feeding mechanism,

Fig. 9 is a detail transverse. sectional view of the blank feeding mechanism on line 99 Fig. 7,

Fig. 10 is a detail view of the escapement mechanism of the feeding mechanism showing the manner in which the blanks are re t'ained,

Flg. 11 1s a simllar vlew showing the manner in which the lowermost blank is-released,

Fig. 12 is a detail view on an enlarged scale of the blank supporting bed, the belt for rotating the blanks therein and the pressers for increasing the frictional pressure of the belt upon the blanks,

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the means for justifying the blanks,

Fig. 14is a detail view showing a modified form of vcutter'and its, relation .to the blank supporting bed,

rolling cylindrical articles,

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary detail plan view of a modified form of cutter showing alsothe relation of the article thereto and progressing through the field of the cutter, V

Fig. 1.8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the same features,

Fig. 19 is a detail view of a portion of one of the conveyer chains, and,

Fig. 20 is a detail view showing the lower end of the rear wall of the chute and the ing rods are mounted therein.

The machine illustrated in the accompanying drawings is designed primarily for use in double pointing wire blanks for pin tickets, but it will be understood that the V invention is capable of adaptation for other uses such as pointing but one end of a blank to form a talking machine needle, or for pointing pins, needles and various other articles and that various modifications of the mechanisms and their parts may be made within the scope of the invention claimed herein.

The blank pointing machine is illustrated herein as supported upon the top 1 of a table having end legs or standards 2, 3 secured at their lower ends to a floor plate a to give rigidity to the supporting structure. The standards 2, 3 are provided with journals 5, 6 for a main shaft 7 having a driving pulley S, a series of sheaves 9 for the belts which rotate the cutters and a sheave or pulley 10 for actuating the mechanism which feeds, advances, rotates the blanks and finally discharges the pointed article. V

In machines for pointing both ends of the blanks a countershaft corresponding to the shaft 7, but located on the opposite side of the machine is provided to actuate the series of cutters and burnishers located upon that side of the machine. The base of the pointing machine preferably is a solid flat plate 11 which rests upon.

the top 1 of the table and forms a rigid support for the mechanisms for handling and' along a fiat bed or track which rigidly supports them through the fields of a series of pairs of rotary cutters or grinders, the cutting faces or elements of which are inclined to the plane of the axes of the moving blanks. The blanks are rotated about their own axes by a belt traveling in the same di rection as that of the movement of the, blanks but preferably at a sufliciently higher rate of speed to cause thexarticles to roll naturally along the bed. However, the invention in its broader aspect contemplates the use of any suitable means for causing manner in which the vertically reciprocat the blanks to rotate as they pass through the field of a cutter or a series of cutters.

The means for supporting the blanks while they are being operated upon by the cutters comprises a bed 12 having a flat top and extending longitudinally of the machine. This bed may conveniently be made in the form of an eye beam having a longitudinally extending vertical central web and a relatively wide base 14 adapted to rest upon the base plate 11.

The fiat face of the bed preferably i provided with a wide, shallow recess or channel in which is secured a web of fine grained leather or cloth 15, (see Figs. 3 and 14:) to present a good frictional surface to the blanks which are rolled upon it as will more fully appear hereinafter.

The sides of the bed are provided near the flat top with oppositely disposed grooves or channels 16, 17 which serve as guideways for the chains of the conveyer which advances the blanks to the cutting or grinding mechanisms.

The cutters or grinders preferably are in the forms of disks 18, 19, having file-cut fiat faces near their peripheries, adjacent sectors of said faces being so cut as to produce a uniform action upon the end of the blanks. The cutting upon the faces of the disks 18, 19 preferably is progressively finer so that the disk 18 acts as a roughing cutter and the finer succeeding disks 19 produce a more finished cut while the disk 20 may desirably be a bufling disk adapted to polish the finished points.

Grinding disks may if desired be employed but cutters in the form of rotary files are preferable as they wear more slowly and do more accurate and satisfactory work.

The term cutter used herein therefore is to be construed broadly to mean any form of cutting or grinding device.

The rotating cutters 18, 19 and the buffer 20 shown herein are secured upon similar spindles having driving pulleys 22. The spindles preferably have conical recesses in each end which are engaged respectively by the conical ends of externally threaded studs 23, 2a which pass through bosses 25, 26 in the ends of U-shaped yokes 27. The studs are locked in properly adjusted position by suitable set nuts. The studs 23 and spindles 21 desirably are provided with axial oil ducts to enable the spindle bearings to be readily lubricated.

The yokes 27 preferably are pivotally mounted at their lower ends to provide means for adjusting the angular positions of the cutting surfaces relatively to the axes of the rotating blanks;

As illustrated in Fig. 4.- the lower bosses 26 of the yoke 27 are bored transversely to receive the ends of oppositely disposed pivotal studs 28-, 29 which are provided with threaded shanks 30 which are retained in upwardly projecting ears 3-1 of preferably cylindrical posts 32 which are vertically adjustable in stands which rest upon the base plate 11. V

The stands illustrated herein are in the form of split cylindrical sleeves 33 which inclose the posts 32 and are provided with ears 3% through which clamping bolts pass. Said sleeves also have diametrically opposite downward extensions 35 integral with or secured to bases 36 which rest upon and preferably are adjustably secured to the base plate by bolt and slot connections 37. The base plate is apertured beneath the bases of said stands to accommodate adjusting screws, the apertures preferably being in the form-of slots extending transversely of the base plate to permit lateral adjustment of the stands.

Any suitable means may be provided for vertically adjusting the cutter supporting posts 32. The preferred means shown herein comprises adjusting screw 38 having threads of different pitch the coarser thread 39 engaging corresponding threads in the base 36 of the stands while the finer threads 40 upon reduced extensions of said screws engage cooperating threads. in the walls of vertical axial apertures in the cylindrical posts 32.

The lower ends of the screws 38 are provided with suitable disks or hand wheels ll to enable the screws to be rotated easily. By reason of the difference in the pitch of the threads 39 and 40 the screw has a differential action so that a very fine and accurate vertical adjustment of the cutter supporting posts may be effected. Rotation of the cylindrical post 32 within the sleeves 33 may effectively be prevented by pins 32 seated in each post extending through vertical slots 33 in the sleeves 33 (see Fig. 3).

The axial positions of the spindles may be inclined more or less to vary the taper of the point produced by tilting the yoke on its pivotal studs 28, 29 and the desired taper maintained by adjusting crews 42, as passing through flanges on said yokes and engaging the tops of the posts 32; vertical bodily adjustment of the cutters may be effected by rotating the adjusting screws 38 and finally the bases 36 of the sleeves 33 may be adjusted bodily toward and from the bed by reason of their bolt and slot connection 37 to the base plate 11.

Thin wedges 36 may be inserted under the front sides of the base 36 for the pur pose of adjusting the inclination of the planes of the cutting surfaces of the cutters relatively to the plane in which the axes of the'blanks travel. I

This provides a very important adjustment since it is necessary that the portion of the cutter which last engages the blank Any desirable means may be utilized for driving the putters. As shown herein the pulleys 22 are rotated by belts n which pass over and are driven by the sheaves 9 on the driving shafts, the belts being guided by pairs of idlers 4-5, l6 which are rotatably mounted upon shafts l7 carried by arms 18, 49 of stands 50 which are adjustably secured by screws 51 extendingthrough slots 52 in .said stands into the base plate.

By adjusting the stands toward or from the cutters any desired tension may be placed upon the belts tt as will be readily understood. 7 V 1 In order to form perfect conoidal point-s upon the ends; of the blanks the blanks are rotated about their own axes continuously while the cutters are reducing their ends. In the machine illustrated herein this is accomplished by providing a traveling belt which will engage the central portions or bodies of the blanks and rotate them as they roll along the bed plate to present their overhanging ends to the successive cutters 18, 19 and to the burnishers 20.

The endless belt 53, preferably of high grade leather is mounted upon suitable pulleys 54:, 55 which are rigidly secured respeetively to shafts 56, 57 journaled in suitable bearings in standards 58, 59 seated upon and fastened to the base plate 11.

The belt 53 preferably is of the same width as the upper flat surface of the bed plate and its lower lead runs in parallelism with and in close proximity thereto so that the belt engages the cylindrical articles from above and rolls them along the bed and upon the leather strap 15 therein which forms a frictional surface for said bed. Any suitable means may be provided for driving the belt 53, a convenient means which is illustrated herein comprises worm gears 60 and 61 rigidly secured to the shafts 56 and 57 respectively, engaging worms 62 and 63 upon a shaft 64 which extends longitudinallyo f the machine and is journaled in pairs of bosses 65, 66 extending laterally from the'upper portions of the standards 58, 59.

The shaft 64 is'provided near its rear end with a sheave or pulley 67 which is driven by a belt from the sheave or pulley 10 on the main driving shaft 7. By thus driving both pulleys for the belt 53. its uniform movement is insured and undue stretching or slipping of the belt avoided.

'In order to'impose a desired aniount of tension upon the belt adjustable bearings are provided for the shaft 56. These bearings comprise square journal boxes 68 slidably mounted in horizontal slots or ways 69in the upper portion of the standard 58 and are adjusted by means of bolts 70 ex tending through caps '71 overlying the ends of the guideways 69, said bolts being provided with winged nuts 72 which abut against the caps.

By rotating the winged nuts 72 thejournal boxes 68 may be ad- 7 justed as desired. V

In order to insure continuous rotation of the blanks while they are being acted upon by the cutters means preferably are provided for holding the lower lead of the belt firmly down upon the blanks while they are passing through the fields of the cutters,

or if desired the means for thus imposing pressure upon the belt may be made con- 7 tinuous throughout the entire lower lead.

A preferred mechanism for accomplishing this purpose which is shown herein comprises a series of narrow pressers which extend across the lower lead of the belt and are yieldably pressed against the upper sur face thereof. The pressers 73 are pressed down by central stems 74-which are pivotally mounted in sockets in said pressers and extend upwardly through suitable guideways in the lower rail 7 5 of a rectangular frame which is supported by the standards 7 5 and lies parallel to thesurface of the bed 12.

The upper ends of the stem 74: are secured to head pieces 76 which prevent them from dropping out when their supporting frame is being manlpulated in assembling or re pairing the machine. These head pieces also serve as seats for helical springs 77 which engage at their opposite ends plates 78 carried, by the ends of adjusting screws 79 which pass through the upper rail 80 of the supporting frame.

The pressers 7 8 preferably lie closely adjacent to one another to provide a continuous uniform pressure on the lower lead of gagement of the bottoms of the blanks with the surface of the leather strip l5which is. set in the upper surface ofthe bed is sufficient to insure proper rotation of the blanks as they pass through the fields of the cut-' ters. The rotation ofthe blanks therefore while being acted upon by the cutters produces perfect conoiclal points.

It is of course essential in thus rolling the blanks along the bed that their axes shall be maintained exactly at right angles to the direction of feed, otherwise they will shift and be unequally treated by the cutters' Means must therefore be provided for maintaining the blanks in proper axial relation to the bed.

A preferred means which is illustrated herein comprises a conveyer consisting of two endless chains arranged in parallelism on opposite sides of the bed and having links provided with holders to re'eive ends of the blanks which project beyond the sides of the bed.

The conveyer chains, which may be in the main like usual sprocket chains comprise a series of pairs of parallel inner and outer links 81, 82 pivotally connected by studs 83 to intermediate links 84 (see Figs. 6, 8, and 19). The outer links 81 have similar plates 85 secured to them, provided with upward extensions 86 having beveled forward edges 87 which extend above the surface of the bed and rear projections 88 extending still higher above said bed, a recess 89 intermediate of the forward beveled edges of said plates and their rear projections serve as sockets to receive loosely the blank and to guide it during its progress along the bed without interfering with its rotation.

The conveyer chains are mounted in the guideways 16, 17 in the bed and are retained therein by side plates 90, 91 which are secured to the bed and preferably extend upwardly to the plane of the upper surface of the bed. These side plates are however interrupted opposite the cutters (as illustrated in Figs. 3, 12 and 14-) to permit the cutters to lie closely to the sides of the bed.

The chains of the conveyer are carried by sprocket wheels 92, 93' which are mounted respectively upon shafts 04, journaled in suitable standards 96, 97 located at the extreme ends of the base plate. The shaft 94 is driven through another sprocket wheel 98 which is rotated by a chain 99 from a sprocket wheel 100 carried by a shaft 101 journaled in the standard 59, the shaft 101 being rotated by a gear 102 which meshes with a gear 103 fixed upon the shaft 57 which carries one of the driving pulleys of the belt 53. By reason of the fact that the shaft 57 transmits its rotary movement both to the driving pulley of the belt 53 and to the conveyer chains uniformity of movement of the adjacent leads of the belt and conveyer is insured so that the proper action of both the belt and conveyer on the blanks is maintained.

It is however found in practice that in spite of the careful and accurate coordination of the belt and conveyer some of the blanks, which may be bent sli htly, will travel endwise as they roll along fife bed and will be improperly presented to the cutters.

In order to overcome this objection inclined guides are provided adjacent to and sufiiciently in advance of the fields 0f the cutters to thrust the blanks into proper position before they pass beneath the pressers 73. These guides which are illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13, comprise plates 104, 105 screwed upon the sides of the bed plate 12 and have inwardly converging surfaces 106, 107 adapted to engage the improperly projecting end of a misplaced blank and gently thrust it back into position as it approaches the cutter. Guide plates of this character preferably are placed in advance of each pair of cuttersto insure uniform tapering of both ends of the blank.

Any suitable blank feeding mechanism may be provided for delivering blanks successively to the sockets of the conveyer chains. A preferred. mechanism which is illustrated herein comprises a hopper provided with a delivery chute which properly positions the blanks, the blanks being delivered from the chute to the conveyer by an escapement operated from a tappet wheel carried by the shaft of the conveyer chain.

The hopper comprises the usual form of receptacle 108 having an inclined bottom 10.9 which preferably merges into a vertical plate 110 which serves the double purpose of a standard supporting the hopper and of forming one wall of a vertical chute. the inner face being channeled to provide a guideway or chute 111 slightly greater than the diameter of the blank and of a width but slightly greater than the length of a blank.

The late or standard 110 is provided near its lower end with a lateral, preferably integral, extension or bracket 112 which is detachably secured to a block 113 by bolts 11% having winged nuts. The block 113 is supported upon uprights or standards 116 resting upon the base plate 11 and is positioned above a horizontal plate 115 which forms a forward extension of the bed 12 and is also supported at its front end upon the standards 116 and at its rear end upon the standards 75 The back of the hopper comprises a vertical plate 117 which is secured at its edges to the plate 110 and is provided with a longitudinal channel 118 (see F ig. 9) having recesses 119 forming guideways for reciprocating feeding bars 120, 121 said bars being connected at their upper ends to a plate 122 which is slidably mounted in the channel 118 and forms the back inner wall of the hopper.

The lower end of the back plate 117 is V the back plate will be continuous and withguided by screws 125 which extend through out a break into which a blank might escape. The lower ends of the rec1procating bars are slots 126 in the back plate and have large heads which overlie the walls of the slots 126.

The feeding bars 120, 121 are reciprocated vertically by a' lever 128 (see Fig. 3) which is pivotally mounted upon a stud 129 on the'back plate 117 and is connected by a link 130 to a cross head 131 which is guided in a way 132 in the upper portion of the back plate 117, and is connect-ed rigidly to the plate 122 which supports'said feeding bars 120 and 121. The lever'128 is provided at its outer end with a depending arm 133 which engages an eccentric 134 on the end of the shaft 64.

By reason of the reciprocation of the feeding rods 120, 121 the cylindrical blanks in the chute will be constantly rotated first in one direction then in the other so that before they reach the lower end of the chute they will be caused to lie in parallelism. Furthermore this reciprocation of the feeding barswill prevent any choking or am ming in the chute. 1

Inasmuch as the blanks are usually dumped carelessly into the hopper it has been found advisable to provide the hopper 7 with agitating means which will straighten around improperly positioned blanks and cause them to enter properly into the chute. To accomplish this purpose the inclined bottom of the hopper is provided with a false bottom 135 which preferably tapers in thickness from its upper to its lower edge and has a central stud 136 which projects through a slot in the bottom of the hopper and engages a lever 137 which is pivoted at its end on a stud 137 The lever 137 is connectedat its opposite end to a link 138 which is reciprocated by an eccentric stud 139 on the worm gear which engages a slot 140 in said link.

By reason of the fact that the stud 189 travels in the slot 140 the vibration transmitted to the false bottom 135 is not a uniform reciprocating movement but in the n..-

ture of a sudden'impulse or shock when the stud engages the end walls of the slot.

These shocks or jars applied to the wedge shaped false bottom facilitate greatly the delivery of the blanks to the chute.

The delivery of the blanks from the chute to the conveyer may be controlled by any suitable escapement mechanism which will release simultaneously both ends of the lowermost blank at the proper time to cause successive blanks to fall into successive holders of the conveyer chains.

The escapement mechanism illustrated herein comprises arms 141, 142 pivotally mounted upon studs 143 carried by a plate 144 secured to and extending across the hopper, the lower ends of said arms being provided with tapered pins 145 which extend across the chute 111. The pins are normally held extending across the chute 111 by light leaf springs 146 which bear upon the backs of offset portion of said arms. The arms are provided below said pins 145 with studs 147 which extend nearly through the thickened lower end 123 ofthe back wall of the hopper and chute. This mechanism provides an escapement which will deliver the lowermost blank successively from the chute. I

' A preferred means for actuating this escapement mechanism (Figs. 1 and 6) comprises a pair of plungers 148 sliding in recesses in the lower portion of the standard 110, the outer ends of said plungersbeing provided with heads 149 which engage helical springs, inclosed and slidably mounted in a sliding block 150 and secured therein by plug screws.

The sliding block 150 has anupward extension 151 which is provided with a recess 152 which receives one end of a helical spring 153 the other end of which abuts against the extension 112 of the hopper stand. The spring 153 normally holds the plungers 148 withdrawn'as shown in Fig. 6 leaving the passage ofthe chute free except for the escapement pins extending plungers 148 are withdrawn from the chute and the blank permitted to fall'upon the extension 115 of the bed, into the path of 'the conveyer.

A convenient means for actuating the sliding block 150 and through it the escapement mechanism consists of an arm 154 pivotally mounted upon a bracket on the base plate 11 having a bolt 154 adjustably seated in its upper end positioned to engage said sliding block.

The arm 154 is actuated by a tappet cam 155 secured rigidly upon the shaft 95 of the sprockets for the conveyers so that the proper timing of the escapement mechanism in conformity with the movement of the conveyer may be readily effected.

The blanks may be delivered from the chute directly into the holders of the conveyer but in the mechanism illustrated herein are permitted to drop upon the flat surface 156 of a thickened portion of a bed plate 157 having a lower surface 158 which lies in the plane of the flat top of the bed plate 12. The plane of the surface 156 of the thickened portion of the bed plate 157 lies above the upper end of the inclined edges 87 of the plates 85 of the conveyer but below the level of the tops of the extensions 88 of such plates so that the articles which drop upon the surface 156 are rolled along the same by the extensions 88 of the holder plates of the conveyer.

The surface 156 is sufliciently lower than the under surface of the block 113 to permit the blanks to pass beneath the latter. In order to insure the proper engagement of the blanks with both of the coiiperating extensions 88 of the holder plates of the con veyer so that the blanks are dropped intothe sockets, a positioning plate 159 is hinged to the block 113 in such a manner that its lower end rests upon the surface 156 of the bed plate extension. As the blanks therefore are rolled along the surface 156 they are caused by engagement with the lower end of the plate 159 to be pushed into contact with said extensions 88. In moving further forward they drop over the shoulder 160 at the end of the surface 156 and fall into the recesses 89 of the holder plates. These recesses extend below the level of the surface 158 so that the articles are then rolled along the bed plate 157 and from it along the flat surface of the bed 12, through the fields of operation of the various cutting and burnishing instrumentalities.

Upon reaching the opposite end of the bed the pointed articlesare delivered to a chute 161 the front end 162 of-which extends beneath the plane of the rear end portion of the conveyer. The chute may be provided with slots 163 to permit the passage of the holder plates 86 of the conveyor chain to discharge the pins to the inclined chute 161.

The point reducing means as heretofore stated may be of any suitable character, one of the preferred forms of cutter which is illustrated in Fig. 15 comprising a flat disk 165 having a slightly raised margin 166 which is divided into sectors a, b, c, d, c, f, g, it. Each of these sectors is provided with a file cut face the cuttings on which are at equal angles to the mean rais effected.

The cutting disks 165 are as heretofore described inclined transversely to the plane of the bed plate and are also inclined relatively to the path of movement of the axes of the blanks which are being reduced to a point.

The relative positions of the plane of the axes of said articles and the plane of rotation of the cutting elements is illustrated in Fig. 16, in which the plane 170 of the axis of the blank 171 is shown as horizontal and the plane 172 of the rotation of the cutting elements is inclined downwardly away from said plane in the direction of movement of the blank. This relation is established in order that the blanks shall be released gradually from the action of the cutting means since it is found in practice that if the plane of the rotation of the cutters is horizontal or in parallelism to the path of movement of the articles a sufficient throw is caused at the time the articles are disengaged from the periphery of the cutter to bend the soft Wire of which the blanks for pin tickets are made.

In Fig. 14s a modified form of. cutter is disclosed which comprises a cylindrical disk 173 which may have a file cut surface 174: or which may be made of carborundum or any other suitable cutting material. The cutting disk 173 in this construction is secured upon a shaft 175 which is rotatably mounted in a journal '17 6 which is pivoted upon studs 177 journaled in ears 178 of a post 179 which corresponds to the posts which are clamped within the split cylindrical sleeves 33. The axial position of the disk 17.3 in this case is adjusted by a screw 180 threaded into an extension 181 of the post 179 and engaging at its upper end the under face of the journal 176 of the shaft of said cutter.

Another form of cutter is illustrated in Figs. 17 and 18 which comprises a carbo rundum disk 182 having a narrow raised periphery 183 of less width than the length of taper to which it is desired to reduce the points of the blanks. If a flat carborundum wheel were to be used for the purpose of grinding points upon blanks for pin tickets or other articles the peripheral portion of the carborundum disk would soon wear down so that a rounded point would be formed upon the pin. By thus providing a marginal grinding surface of less width than the length of the tapered portion of the pin and advancing the blank across .the field of the same in a direction at right angles to the axis of the disk, the end of the blank will be gradually tapered as it proceeds until the tip thereof extends over equal rapidity and a smooth surface maintained which will properly point pins until the entire raised peripheral portion is reduced to the level of the inner portion of the disk 182. 7

While the cutters illustrated herein are preferred forms, other cutters may be used within the spirit and scope of'the following claims. 7

In the operation'of the machine the cylindrical blanks are dumped into the hopper 108. The agitation produced by the recip rocating false bottom 135 of the hopper serves to straighten them around and deliver them to the chute 111. The reciprocating bars 120 and 121 in the chute and the plate 122 secured to said bars, which forms the back wall of the hopper, still further agitates the blanks and causes them to be fed downwardly into the chute 1'11 and, rolls them while descending through the chute so that a superimposed series of the blanks are maintained in parallelism. The lowermost blank in the chute is supported by the pins 145.

The blanks are delivered from the lower end of the chute by the action of the escapement mechanism which is actuated by the tappetwheel 155. This tappet wheel acting upon the lever 154: causes, the belt 154: to thrust inwardly the block 151 and thereby to force the plungers 148 across the lower open end of the chute until they engage and thrust backwardly the studs 1 17 upon the arms 141. pins 1&5 from beneath the lowermost article and permits it to drop upon the plungers '148. As soon as a tappet upon the wheel releases the lever 154 the spring 153 restores the block 150 to its normal position and permits the blank to drop out of the bottom of the'chute on to the surface 156 of the bed plate which forms an extension of the bed 12. The extensions 88 of the holder plate then engage the blank and carry it along the surface 156. The positioning device 159 engages the blank as it is thus being moved along and forces it, if misplaced, into engagement with both of the pairs of eX- tens'ions 88 of the holder plates. When the article reaches the end of the surface 156 it drops uponrthe surface 158 and into the sockets or holders 89 of the holder plates 85. The blank is then carried forward until it reaches the flat bed 12. During its passage over the bed 12 it is held firmly in contact therewith by the lower lead of the traveling belt 53'which is pressed downward firmly upon the blanks by the presser plates 78 which impose pressure upon the belt throughout the area in which the blank is This removes the ends of the beingoperated upon by the cutters. The

. cutters as heretofore described desirably are successively finer and progressively reduce the end of the article to a tapered point.

The last of the rotary devices preferably is adjustment are adapted'to produce points of any desired taper and the machine therefore may be utilized in a variety of ways such as the pointing of pins for pin tickets,-

the pointing of talking machine needles, or

ordinary needles or pins and in many other obvious ways.

While the invention is illustrated herein in its adaptation to double pointing pins for pin tickets it is to be understood that it is capable of adaptation to other uses and that the mechanisms disclosed herein arev merely illustrative and not in any way restrictive of the invention which may be embodied in various other forms within the'meanin g and scope of the following claims.

Having thus described my lnventlon what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is;

1; A machine for double pointing soft metal pins comprising a pair of oppositely disposed rotatable pin pointing means positioned to engage simultaneously the opposite end portions of the pins, means for presenting pins successively to said pointing means and means engaging said pins throughout substantially their length between the pointing means operable to rotate said pins while the same re engaged by said pointing means and to prevent the pins from bending during the pointing operation.

2. A machine for double pointing soft metal pins comprising a pair of oppositely disposed rotatable pin pointing means positioned to engage simultaneously the oppo site end portions of the pins, a flat bed having a width approximately the length of the pin between the pm point-mg means, a conveyer comprising traveling endless carriers having means for engaging the pins adjacent the edges of said bed and coeperating means movable longitudinally of said bed and having a width substantiallythe same as that of the bed operable to rotate said pins as the same are carried along the, bed by the conveye'r. Y

3. A machine for double pointing soft metal pins comprising a pair of oppositely disposed rotatablepin pointing means positioned to engage simultaneously the opposite end portions of the pins, a flat bed having a width approximately the length of the pin between the pin pointing means, a conveyer comprising traveling endless carriers having means for engaging the pins ad acent the edges of said bed and a coeperating endless belt having a width sub tioned to engage simultaneously the. opposaid pins will be continuously rotated about site end portions of the pins, a flat bed having a width approximately the length of the pin between the pin pointing means, a conveyer comprising traveling endless car- ,ri'ers having means for engaging the pins ad acent the edges of said bed and a coopcrating endless belt having a width sub stantially the same as that of said bed operable to engage and rotate the pins as the-same are carried. through the bed by the conveyer and a series of pres'sers of substantially the same width as said bed yieldably forcing said endless belt toward said bed.

'5. A machine for double pointing soft metal pins comprising a pair of oppositely disposed rotatable pin pointing means positioned to engage simultaneously the opposite end portions of the pins. a flat bed having a width approximately the length of the pin between the pin pointing means, a conveyer'comprising traveling endless carriers having means for. engaging the pins ad acent the edges of said .bed and a cooperating endless belt having a width substantially the same as that of said bed operable to engage and rotate the pins as the same are carried through the bed by the conveyer and a series of centrally pivoted pressers of substantially the same width as said bed yieldably forcing said endless belt toward said bed. I

6. A machine for double pointing soft metal pins comprising a plurality of pairs of rotatable cutting members, the members of each pair being positioned to engage simultaneously the opposite ends of the pin, a fiat bed extending between said pairs of cutters, a conveyer comprising traveling endless carriers mounted in ways in the edges of said bed and having pin receiving members extending above said bed and adapted to permit the bodies of the pins to rest upon the bed, an endless belt engaging said pins throughout the width of said bed and means for driving the lead of said belt which is adjacent said bed in the same direction as that of the adjacent leads of the conveyer but at a higher speed whereby 7 their axes as they are presented'to the cutters and will be prevented from bending during the operation of the cutters;

7. In a machine for pointing cylindrlcal articles, means forv advancing continuously a serles of said articles, means for rotating said articles about their axes, a rotating 1 being operated upon.

In a machine for pointing cylindrical articles, means for advancing continuously aseries of saldarticles, means for rotating said articles about their axes, a. rotating dlsk cutter havlng a fiat annular cuttingface adjacent its periphery rotating in a plane inclined to the axes of the rotating articles being operated upon and means for adjusting the axial position of said rotating cutter.- 3 v 9. In a machine for pointing cylindrical articles, means for advancing conti-nuously a series of said articles, means for rotating said articles about their axes, a rotating disk adjacent its periphery in a plane inclined to the axes of the rotating articles being operated upon and. means for adjusting said cutter toward and from the path of the ends of said articles. 7 10. A machine for pointing cylindrical articles, means for advancing continuously a series of said articles, means for rotating said articles about their axes, a rotating cup shaped disk cutter having its cutting elements rotating in a plane inclined to the axes of the rotating articles being operated upon, and means for adjusting said cutter bodily in a direction normal to the plane of the 'axesof the articles being acted upon.

11; Ina machine for pointing cylindrical articles comprising aframe, a bed for sup porting. said articles and means for advance ing the same successively over said bed and means for imparting rotative movement to said advancing articles, and a rotary disk presenting a fiat cutting face positioned to engage and point said articles; means for adjustably supporting said cutter comprising a stand adjustably mounted upon said frame, a yoke pivotallyv mounted on said stand, means on said yoke for supporting the shaft of said cutter and means for ad-- justing said yoketo vary the axial position of said cutter. V p

12. In-amachine for pointing cylindrical articles comprising a frame, a bed for supporting said articles and means for advancing the same successively over said bed and means for imparting rotative movement to said advancing articles and a rotary disk presenting a flat cutting face positioned to engage and point said articles; means for a'djustably supporting said cutter comprising a stand mounted upon said frame and means for adjusting said stand vertically andlaterally, a yoke pivotally mounted on said stand, means on said yoke for supporting the shaft of'said cutter andmeans for adjusting said yoke to vary the axial posi 7 'tion of said cutter.

ofcutterslior progressively reducingthe end i 13,. In amachine. for'pointing cylindrical articles comprising a frame,- aibed for supporting said articles-and means for advancing the same successively over said bed and means for imparting rotative movement" to said advancing articlesand a rotary cutter adapted to engage'and point saidarticles;

means for adjustably supporting said cutter comprising a stand mounted upon a frame having a cylindrical split sleeve, apost revolubly and'slidably mounted in said sleeve,

ayoke' pivotally and adjustably mounted" upon said post andmeans forj adjusting said post vertically including a screw havlng threadsfo'f different pitch'engaging respectively the'base' of said stand and said post.

11 i; In a machine for double pointing "cylindrical articles comprising aser-ies of pairs oi saidarticles, means fonpresenting the articles to said cutters including a -fiat bed having oppositely disposed lateral slots [extending longitudinally thereof forming guideways, an endless conveyer comprislng chains guided in said guideways, the links of said chains being provided With pin receivlng holders extending above sald bed,

means for actuating said conveyer chains in unison and means for rotating said articles While the same are being acted upon by said rotating cutters. s

.15; A machine for pointing the ends of cylindrical articles comprising a bed, means rotating in a plane transversely inclined to the plane of said bed and in the general directlon of movement of the surface of said article's engaged by said cutting elements,

and means for varying. the inclination of the plane of rotation of said cutting elements.

- 17. A machine for pointing the ends of cylindrical articles comprising a bed, means for causing the articles to roll along said bed, a disk: cutter I having its cuttingelements rotating inca'planev transversely inclined to the plane of said bed and means for universally. adjusting the axis of rota:

tion of said cutter in an orbital path Whereby the plane of rotation of said cutting elements may-be disposed at an angle to the horizontal plane of the bed and also to the direction of movement of 'the axesof said articles. Q V c j 18. Ina machine for pointingth'e ends-of cylindrical articles comprising a bed, a trav-f eling conveyer comprisingjchains guidedin' guideways' in the sldesotsaid bed and havmg plates provided with holders to engage said articles beyondthe'fedg'es of said bed and adapted to maintain the axial position ot'said articles thereon, a series of rotating cutters havlng then cutting elements in- "clined to the plane of said bed and means for rotating said articles "while they are being acted upon by said cutters.

19. "In a machine for POlIitlngtllG ends of cylindrical articles, a series of cutters, means for presenting the ends of said articles pro v gressivelyto said cutters comprisinga 'con tinuously moving endless-conveyer having a series otpairs of holders for said articles, a hopper for said articles having a chute leading to said conveyer adapted to hold; a superimposed series of said articles in par; allel relation, means for supporting the lowermost article adjacent its ends, means for simultaneously relea; mg both ends of saidlowermost articlerand' means for directing the released article into the holders in said conveyer. f I

20.111 a machine for pointing the ends of cylindrical articles, a series of cutters, means for presenting the ends of said as, ticles progressively to said cutters -compris-. ing a continuously moving endless conveyer having a series of pairs of. holders for said articles and means operated by said con veyer :t'or successively releasing the lowermost article in said: chute" in timed relation to the passage of said holders beneath the mouth of-said chute- V T .21. In 'a machine for pointing the ends of cylindrical articles, a series of cutters, means for presenting the ends of saldtarticles progressively to said cutters comprising a continuously moving endless ,conveyer having a series of pairs of holders for said articles, an escap'ement for. releasing successively the lowermost articles from said chute and means including a .tappet Wheel operated by said conveyer for actuating said "escapement in timed relation to the passage of said holders beneath the mouth f said chute. r r v '22; In a' machine for pointing the endsof cylindrical articles, aiseries-of pairs ofcut-' ters, means for presenting the ends of said articles progressively to said cutters, c0m prising a continuously moving endless cone veyer having a serieso'f pairs 0t holders tor said articles, a hopper for said articles havinga chute leading to said-conveyer adapted to hold a series of said articlesin paral lel--- relatlon, reciprocating means insaid chute for pos tioning and advancing the articles therein and means actuated by said conveyer for delivering said articles successively to prising a-continuously movingendless conveyer havlng a series of'holders for said articles, a hopper forsaid articles having a chute leading to said conveyer.adaptedto hold a series of said articles in parallel re lation, a pair of reciprocating bars slidably mounted in the'wall of said chute engaging the .articles therein and means for delivering said articles successively to said holders.

24:. In a machine for pointing the ends of cylindrical articles, a series of cutters, means for presenting the ends of said ar- 'ticles progressively to said cutters, comprismg a contmuously moving endless conveyer having a series of holders for said articles, a hopper for said articles having a' chute leading to said conveyer adapted to hold a series of said articles in parallel relation. reciprocating means in said chute for advancing said articles, and agitating means in said hopper adapted to assist the delivery of said articles properly to said chute.

25. In a machine for pointing the ends of cylindrical articles, a series of cutters, means for presenting the ends of said articles progressively to said cutters, comprising a continuously moving endless conveyer having a series of holders for said articles, a hopper for said articles h.ving a chute leading to said conveyor adapted to hold a series of said articles in parallel relation, and a reciprocating tapered false bottom in said hopper adapted to assist in delivering said articles to said chute.

26. In a machine for tapering the ends of articles comprising a rotating cutter and,

means for successively moving the articles continuously across the field of said cutter; pivotally adjustable means for supporting the spindle of said cutter whereby the inclination of the plane of its cutting elements may be variedin respect to the path of movement of said articles, a cylindrical support for said pivoted spindle supporting means, and means for locking said cylindrical support in adjusted positions.

27. In a machine for tapering the ends of articles comprising a rotating cutter and means for successively moving the articles continuously acrossthe field of said cutter; pivotally adjustable means for supporting the spindle of said cutter whereby the inclination of the plane of its cutting elements may be varied in respect to the path of' movement of said articles, a cylindrical support for said pivoted spindle supportmg means, a split clamping sleeve for locking said cylindrical support in adjusted positions and means for raising and lowering said cylindrical support.

28. In a machine for tapering the ends of articles comprising a bed, means for moving said articles continuously along said bed, a

cup shaped cutter having a flat annular cutting face at its periphery positioned in operative relation to said bed to engage the ends of the articles moving along said bed and means for rotating said cutter.

29. In a machine for tapering the ends of articles comprising a bed, means for moving said articles continuously along said bed and for rotating said articles during such movement, a cup shaped cutter having a fiat annular cutting face at its periphery positioned in operative relation to said bed to engage the ends of articles moving along the bed andmeans for rotating the cutter to cause the cutting surface thereof to travel in the same general direction as the movement of the surface of the articles With which it contacts.

30. A machine for tapering the ends of articles comprising a rotating cup shaped cutter having a fiat annular cutting face at its peripher means for presenting articles to said cutter to cause the same to traverse across a segment thereof with the points projecting beyond the inner perimeter of said annular cutting face.

31. A machine for tapering the ends of articles comprising a rotating cup shaped cutter having a fiat annular cutting face at its periphery, means for presenting articles to said cutter to cause the same to traverse across a segment thereof, means for rotating said articles to cause the surface which contacts with the cutter to move in the same general direction as the cutting surface but at a different speed.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

MARCUS O. ANTHONY. 

